Quarantine
by side-fish
Summary: Failing to escape on-time, a group of army men are in a desperate bid to escape LA. A story based on 8MilesThatWay's XCIX, with his green light. Details inside. Rated T for some mild swearing. Read, review and most of all, enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So I sent 8MilesThatWay a message if I could make a story based on his story, XCIX, and was happy that he gave me the go-ahead. So I guess everybody knows by now that his story is mostly based on Prototype, and yet something about his story is captivating. Perhaps it's Bolt's struggle with himself. Anyway, I hope you update soon =).

So this story has actually less to do with Bolt. In fact, the story is designed in such a way that it would not affect XCIX's original flow of the story. Bolt will make some minor appearances once in a while, but the main focus is about the infection and its implications to the war effort.

Updates will be less frequent though as opposed to my first fanfic here. Apparently, I'm not in vacation anymore.

Disclaimer: Bolt belongs to Dreamworks. Story is based on 8MilesThatWay's XCIX.

Quarantine: Escape of Los Angeles

Prologue

Apache Longbow 'Scalper 1-1 LIVE FEED'

"1-2, let's go low low."

"Roger wilco, low low, 1-1."

…

"1-2, several targets heading northeast through street Bradley."

"Wilco, engaging."

…

"Wait a minute. I see small target 1-2. Possible HVT. We'll try to confirm."

"Roger 1-1. We'll hold."

"Engage other targets first 1-2. We don't want to be sitting ducks."

"Wilco. Multiple targets. Launching Hellfire."

"Go ahead 1-2. Take them down."

"Missle away."

…

"Alright 1-2, target identified. HVT confirmed to be Kilo niner-niner. Proceed with caution."

Chapter 1: Waking Up in Hell

4 days later…

"_All ground units, be advised. Evacuation order-April. Fall back to grid square two-Kilo for extraction. Last pick-up is 1700 hours_… _All ground units, be advised. Evacuation order-April. Fall back to grid square two-Kilo for extraction. Last pick-up is 1700 hours_… _All ground units, be advised. Evacuation order-April. Fall back to grid square two-Kilo for extraction. Last pick-up is 1700 hours_…"

He slowly awoke to sound of the emergency radio broadcast. Before him was the wreck that was once the Humvee he rode. They had slammed head on with a civilian vehicle. The driver of the other vehicle apparently already dead. He tried to move his hands slowly. _Good_, he thought as he realized he only suffered relatively minor injuries. He looked to his left. His driver was not so lucky and so were the other guys on the back. He got the radio of his captain. "HQ…this is Delta two-two. Man down, I'm the… I'm the last of my squad, and in need of a… MEDEVAC at Delta Lima Alpha. I need…" He then realized that the chord of the radio had been severed, rendering it useless. _Great_, he could receive messages but could not report back. The radio message kept repeating in his head and he suddenly realized he was in trouble. Stuck in the middle of downtown Los Angeles and he was the last person in his squad. He also has no wheels and he is trapped in his own vehicle.

"Is there anyone out there? Someone please help me!" The armed officer yelled out. He tried to struggle out but he would slightly budge and that was it. Exhausting his strength, he relaxed. "This couldn't get any worse."

As if his luck has ran out, he heard the sound of barking and howling from the distance. Worse, it sounded like it was getting closer.

"Holy shit!" He abruptly ended his break and now was struggling for his life. As he slowly tried to break free of the wrecked military vehicle. He looked through a broken window and could see the distant figures of four legged demons racing to his wreckage. He was now in panic as he tried to reach and tried faster to get out. Now his leg was the last thing stuck and the K-9s were now half the distance from previous. He tried with every effort to pull himself out. Finally, it had paid off as he fell to the ground with his entire body out of the Humvee. As he regained ground, he grabbed the rifle on his seat and as he got his rifle out, a K-9 jumped for him. It was the ugliest thing he had ever seen. _This was once a dog_, he thought. He did not have enough time to think though as he switch his rifle from semi-auto to round-burst shooting three bullets to the K-9's skull. The dog dropped, missing him by only a few. One down, dozens more to go. Then again, he thought his chances were better if he ran and so he started running away from them.

Hitting and running seemed like a good idea so he tried shooting at them hoping to get lucky, but none of his shots were hitting. Firing a weapon to the back may not have been a good idea, especially with the angle he had to make the shot. Now it would only seem he needed to focus on running if he was going to outrun them. Dogs however, with their four legs, always outran people, what more if they were mutants on steroids? Now the soldier thought this was stupid and that his chances of escape were really slim from the start. Planning for a last stand, he headed straight for one of the buildings were he could dig-in. The narrow corridors also provided a good choke point for incoming targets. He got to a hall inside a building that had a corridor heading towards the ground floor comfort rooms. This was where he thought we would make his last stand. He got to the end of the corridor and dug-in. Soon enough, they all started running towards him like a mad horde. He switched his rifle from round-burst to auto. He did not care about conserving ammo anymore as he started to fire everything he got on them. "Eat some lead!" He yelled out unleashing dozens of round every clip. They fell one by one and it seemed that it was working. Somehow, he had diminished their numbers to less scary figures. He had to reload fast enough though and he was already running out. He fired everything until he was at his last mag. Then it was all gone, but there was still one more. He still his his side-arm and with that, he got it out and aimed at it. With a weaker momentum, it took quite a while to take it down. It did not even seemed fazed to stop. It was rushing towards him at the corridor. He was now down to his last clip and started firing for the last time. As he did, he realized it was no good. He tried to move back as he tripped. The infected then made a huge leap unleashing his claws. The man lifted his pistol with one last bullet in the barrel. He fired his last shot. It missed. _Was this how it was going to end_, he thought. He used his arm to cover his assault and closed his eyes.

Little did he know that his luck had changed when he heard a huge bang from what sounded like a gun. Whatever it was, he knew it was not his as he opened his eyes, he saw the rushing K-9 suddenly fall on him like dead weight. He struggled to move out of it when someone helped him get the body off of his. "You okay there, buddy?"

He noticed another soldier who held with him a shotgun, the barrel still smoking. He was glad. "Thanks, you fuckin' saved my life, man."

"Don't thank me yet. Where's your unit?"

"They're dead. I'm the last in my squad."

They then heard more barking at the distance. "We need to get out of here." The other soldier looked at him as he noticed his pistol and the M-16 rifle he carried. "Out of ammo, eh?" He then got from his back what appeared to be another shotgun. "SPAS-12, beat's the crap out of them."

They started leaving the scene. Just outside was a parked Bradley IFV, with the door at the back open. Another guy from the inside was queuing for them to get in. The doors close. They were now on the move.

"What's your name by the way?" The man asked.

"Corporal Flint, sir."

"Sergeant Fields, and from now on, you're our squaddie."

As they move away, they are unaware of a white shepherd dog watching over the roof of one of the buildings. The dog jumped high above and fell down to one of the automobiles, crushing the automobile flat and walking to the street relatively unharmed.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I want to thank you all for the positive feedback... even that guy who made that troll comment. Nah, he ain't runnin'. He gonna n00btube 'em.

8: I'm glad you enjoyed my story so far. I read your Lil' Bolt story. I didn't see that coming. Good luck in your next chapter.

The Franchi SPAS-12 is referenced from COD, but not the one you think. Black Ops' SPAS resembles the one in L4D2, which is semi-automatic or automatic I think. The SPAS-12 I was referring to was the pump-action shotgun. My personal favorite in the game.

Without further delay, Chapter 2 =).

Mexico

Fields was a good man. He accepted me in his squad like I was his lost brother and for good reason. Out there is no place to be alone. And you know what they say, the more the merrier. To go solo meant you're dead. I talked with my other squaddies. The man with me in the back was Private Hopkins. He's a cool guy, from first impressions. And the driver, Private Wiggins. They were only three people inside a decent piece of armor.

The M3A3 Bradley IFV is a unique piece of armor that the Army uses. In times where we are fighting mutated dogs, one may think that being in an M1 Abrams tank meant that you were safe. Well, I've seen those things blow up especially to Kilo-Niners with unique sets of powers or skills or magic whatever you want to call it. The Bradley sits in a unique position. Its armor is still vulnerable to these 'powers' but the vehicle has versatility. It is a bit slower than the Abrams, but more flexible and more mobile. The basic rule of war is don't get shot. People always tell me that. So basically, evasion is better than resistance and the Bradley offers that kind of compromise. I feel safer already.

Civvies call them K-9s, but we call them by their abbreviation, Kilo-Niners. A week before the infection started, we would meet a variety of Kilo-Niners, freshly mutated dogs, but there were more hard-core Kilo-Niners out there. The ones we met were just normal ones. I've heard stories from other units of Kilo-Niners with large tongues of acid or of a crazy metallic-like dog. The one with the acid tongue melted an Abrams tank's depleted uranium armor. And then there was the one and only Kilo Niner-Niner or XCIX as the civvies would call them. Since X-ray Charlie Indigo X-ray was a long callsign for a tango, we just called it from its other abbreviation: K99. This dog I was informed was beyond belief. It consumed soldiers and dogs like a sponge. And that was it. They were gone. I knew some of my comrades who lost their lives to them and I was lucky I never encountered those beyond the normal ones in combat.

Today was critical. Time was of the essence. We needed to get to the extraction point before they leave. And if we didn't get there in time, then we were on our own. Which is why I found it surprising that vehicle was going the wrong direction…

"Hey, hey! Where the hell are you going? The extraction point is that way." Flint replied to Wiggins as he missed a turn.

"Extraction point? What are you talking about?" Wiggins asked.

"The evacuation at grid square two kilo. Didn't you get the memo? We'll be on our own if we don't get there before 5 p.m."

"You mean this memo?" Fields turned on the radio and the familiar message played itself.

"_All ground units, be advised. Evacuation order-April. Fall back to grid square two-Kilo for extraction. Last pick-up is 1700 hours_…"

"Yeah. We should get going. We're probably about eight Mikes out."

"Flint, that message has been playing for two days now."

"What?" He was surprised. Was he in that wreckage for two days?

"Haven't you heard the news? Extraction point was overrun." Fields replied.

Flint could not believe it. This was the stuff of nightmares. They were all alone and no one was going back to help them. There was a feeling of disbelief, but he quickly accepted that fact and now there was only one question ringing in his head. "If that's the case, where are we going?"

The three all looked at each other before looking at him. "Mexico." They all replied.

"Mexico? Shouldn't we find other units and regroup?"

"Army's fighting a lost cause, my friend. Infection's spreading like wild-fire across the US. There would be no formidable armed forces to regroup." Fields explained.

"And besides, in-case you haven't known, our country has ditched us as of the moment. The Army gave that ultimatum so that they could border LA and isolate the infection, trapping everyone inside, including us." Hopkins added.

"We may not have reached the ultimatum in time, but unfortunately, the barrier didn't hold and the infection spread." Wiggins replied.

"Fortunately for us, we're going to use that advantage to escape before they try to reinforce it again."

"Wouldn't they know our location afterwards?" Flint asked.

"Relax man. I already removed the transponder, strobe lights and other tracking devices." Hopkins replied.

"Okay. And you thought this when?"

"Just about before we saved your ass. Now quit askin' questions."

The conversation ended and all were at their respective stations. Wiggins was at the driver seat, Fields manned the 25 mm turret gun, Hopkins manned the secondary machine gun. Flint was there reserve. Street after street, it was all the same. Shattered glass littered the sidewalks, the occasional fire and smoke. It was not all that quite. Inside the vehicle, the sounds of faint howling and gunfire were slightly audible.

"So Flint, what unit are you from?"

"Well, I was part of EOD, you know. Explosives Ordnance Disposal. Before this mess, I used to clear out mines, bombs, you name it back in Afghanistan. Lately though, we were called in to help recover dead bodies."

There was a brief silence. The three felt his words and had solemn expressions.

"There's too many to count. I mean, just before all this, we were averaging 70 per day."

"I'm sorry." Wiggins replied.

"No need. It's that dog and all those other Kilo-niners."

Hopkins then handed a cigarette box. "Cigarette?"

"Thanks." Flint got a stick. Fields then opened his lighter. "Need a light?"

He lit his cigarette and breathed in the smoke. He then puffed a smoke cloud. It was like blowing his problems away. He took in a second and puffed another cloud. More calm and less personal he looked to his new squaddies with a sense of new hope. "So… Mexico."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks for the positive feedback guys. I really appreciate it. I hope you guys are enjoying this fic so far. By the way, I changed the title to just Quarantine to make it sound simpler.

The Supermarket

Mexico was a long journey from Los Angeles. No matter what you are, a civvie or a military man, a road trip is still a road trip. Stuff is needed to make the trip. What makes this a little more challenging are the dogs. We had to move carefully. Fieldtrips were never a picnic anyway and we could only go so fast. We really wanted to get out quick…

Wiggins parked the Bradley just outside a warehouse-sized supermarket. Fields got out a familiar weapon, the W1200. It was interesting to know he had a collection of shotguns. Made it easier for him to give to me his SPAS-12 earlier I guess…

"You seem to like shotties a lot." Flint said.

"Rule of thumb for fighting K-9s, assault rifles don't do much good against them. It's always advisable to have with you a sniper rifle, preferably with FMJ rounds, for long range kills." Fields replied while Hopkins got a Barrett out of their weapons stash.

"Lastly…" He loaded a shotgun round inside. "Never walk alone without one of these. Two of these of course are preferable."

"Holding shotties with both hands. How do you reload them?"

"I don't know man, it looked better in the video games." He then checked the time. It was 4:30 in the afternoon. "Okay Flint, this is the plan Wiggins and Hopkins will guard the surrounding area just in-case while we go shopping. Take only what's absolutely necessary. Oh and Flint, Wiggins likes those Wiggly marshmallows."

"I thought you said…"

"I know what I said, but… he says he can't live without them."

Flint looked at Wiggins. Wiggins just waved his hand sideways. "It's chocolate-coated." Flint loaded his shotgun.

Moments later, the main door opened quietly as the two slowly entered the supermarket. Shotguns aimed down the sights, the two aim there weapons, ready just in-case there was a K-9. Fields led the way, aiming his weapon forward. Flint followed Fields, walking backwards facing the back side. As they traverse, they slowly conquered more aisles, slowly reaching the end, which was the meat section. This was the place where they would most likely encounter K-9s. They suddenly heard some movement while on approach. They came closer and closer. The pans and knives made clashing sounds like they were wind chimes. The both of them now had their weapons ready. They peeked at the meat section, hiding behind an aisle only to see a furry friend of the different kind. A cat had snuck in to take the fishes displayed there as its bounty. "False alarm." Both of them were now sure it was safe. It was then that Fields gave the green light. "All clear."

Just outside, Hopkins spotted a dog on the far end of the street. He stood at the opening of the hatch of the vehicle. He looked through is scope and noticed a pack of K-9s feasting on the body of a dead soldier. He slowly reached his hand for the trigger when Wigs blocked him from it. "We don't want to attract attention."

"Right." Hopkins then just continued to observe the subjects.

They lowered their weapons and hurriedly rushed to the trolley section. It was now time to shop for some groceries. Everything they needed, they put in the trolley. Though, somehow, they could not help but feel like children coming in a candy store. Fields searched for some cooking wares, fruits, potato chips, chocolates, energy bars, and one decent microwave and a small Styrofoam cooler while Flint would go look around for some hotdogs, bread, water, finger foods and other items, not to mention Wiggins' Wigglies. Only the necessities, yet they could not help but get more things for themselves. Flint got some batteries and a watch for himself. Fields got fedora hat for some reason. Fields would come back to Flint, both of them carrying goods, with Fields looking at him and his new accessory. "What are you lookin' at… punk!"

"Get that thing off mate." Flint just replied.

Pretty much he took it off and would never wear it again.

It was the sale of the century. Two trolleys overflowing. And it did not even cost a cent.

After shopping, they rolled the trolleys outside to the parked Bradley. The backdoor soon opened and Hopkins unfocused his sight on the dogs and went out to assist with the loading of the goods to the vehicle. When everything was in-place, the doors were closed and they were soon off.

Nightfall had arrived. They parked the Bradley in a well-secluded alley, but they were still in downtown. They were careful to only open some soup and biscuits for supper. Meat will always attract the attention of dogs, and so, they made sure. Only when they were in the outskirts would they consider eating a decent meal. Soup and biscuits will do for now. They poured kerosene in barrel and lit it up for some heat they all would gather around the fire for some warmth.

"Is there something troubling you?" Fields asked.

Fields caught Flint on deep thought. "Guys, I was just wondering. If we did get across the border, what would stop the infection from spreading there as well? I mean, we've got the most sophisticated armed forces on the entire planet, what more Mexico?"

"I'm sure they'll get over that bridge." Hopkins handed his cigarette box once more. "You know what we're missing? Some marshmallows."

"Marshmallows?" Wigs asked.

"Yeah, it'd be like camping, only we're in the city."

"This ain't no city. This is the Wild West." Fields replied. They all laugh, albeit slightly. They did not want to attract any attention. Hopkins was now handing cigarette sticks to everyone. After a smoking session, everyone seemed less frustrated.

They were now in the middle of sharing some stories. It had been a while since they could get along like this.

"We came about a week after the infection, you know. The state police realized that the situation was spinning out of control. We were the first ones to respond." Fields shared.

"I was glad about going home back from Iraq. I thought it couldn't be worse than what we were facing back then." Wigs added.

"But as it would turn out, we actually would rather go back to Iraq now." They all started laughing at the irony. However, it was cut short as they faced the direction of where they heard the faint noises of barking and howling getting louder from the distance. A pack of K-9s were about to pass by. "Time to get in." Fields said throwing his cigarette stick and stomping its flames. They all walk inside the Bradley. Hopkins was the last to get in. He closed the lid of the barrel to suffocate the flames. It was all gone, he got in and the doors closed. Wiggins turned off the engine. It was all silent now.

"Time to get some shut-eye." Wigs said.

"Good night guys. Tomorrow's gonna be a big day. We'll need the rest." Fields said as he lay down on the side to get some sleep.

"See you tomorrow Flint." Hopkins said as he closed his eyes.

"Yeah." He said. Flint then lay flat on the floor looking up. "Good night." He said as he closed his eyes, though he was not sure if he would fall asleep. He could hear the sound of K-9s rushing along the street they parked in. After what happened earlier, this was too close for comfort. He was tired though. It was a busy day. He eventually drifted to sleep while the rush of K-9s stampeded through the road, not even noticing the parked vehicle at the side. In the cover of darkness, it was almost invisible.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: So it's been a while now. Been very busy lately. Apparently, of all days in campus, I get to go home 7:00-7:30 every single time, arriving the house about 8:30-8:45. Yay? At least school is four days, but it doesn't seem to be helping it seems. It's like everyday, I have to go somewhere. Sad.

Anyway, this one is pretty quick. I'll try to update soon I hope.

Disclaimer: Details in this fic do not accurately represent real world settings. Take it as it is. Other disclaimers at the first chapter.

Purge The City

Nellis AFB  
ICAO code: KLSV  
Runway 21L  
0600 Zulu

2 F-15s Bug-eye **2-1** and 2-2

"**Alright, taxi checklist complete.**"

"_Bug-eye 2, taxi on hold to runway 21 left. Traffic in-bound. B-52_."

"**Wilco**."

Two F-16s park just before the runway threshold to accomodate the incoming traffic. On the other runway, another pair of F-16s ready themselves for take-off just before the runway blast pads.

"_Bug-eye 1, cleared for take-off, runway 21 right."_

"_Preacher 5, clear to land. Runway 21 left. Be advised, some headwind on final._"

"_Copy that Tower. Thanks for the advice. We're now on final__."_

The B-52 slowly becomes visible on its approach. The pilots watch as it gracefully lands down the runway.

Now just meters above, the giant plane gracefully approach itself to the aiming point of the runway. The spoilers retract and reverse-thrust set to max, the plane steadily decreased its speed to a noticeable pace.

"_Welcome home Preacher 5, proceed to taxiway delta 4_."

"_Taxiing_."

"_Contact ground at one zero eight decimal five_."

"_Copy that_. _We're s__witching_."

"_Alright Bug-eye 2. You are cleared for take-off. Runway 21 left_."

"**Roger that, tower.**"

"**Alright 2-2, tower just cleared us. Just follow my lead.**"

"_Copy that 2-1. We're right beside you_."

The pilots then max the thrust to 100%. They were now on their way.

"**Power.**"

It did not take long before the aircrafts reached 80 knots, also known as Vee-one.

"**80 knots… Vee-One, rotate… Vee-Two, positive rate. Gear up.**"

"_Bugeye 2, contact Mission on one one zero decimal five_. _Good luck_."

"**We're switching.**"

Now cruising high above the clouds, they continue their heading along with a dozen other F-16s. The pilot and his wing man were now about to reach mach 1. Then, the sound they have been waiting for.

"**Boom.**"

_"Nice halos, 2-1."_

"_This is_ _Bug-eye 3_. _We're in position._"

"**Mission, Bug-eye 2 entering kill zone.**"

"_Copy that. All Bug-eye units, be advised. We are go-mission. Proceed with bombing run_."

"**Copy that, Mission. We are live, Bug-eye 2. ETA 10 minutes.**"

…

"**Alright ****2-2, area in sight. Peel left and arm your CBUs.**"

"_Arm._"

_"1-1 is going for guns."_

…

Flint, Fields, Hopkins and Wigs slept the whole night. Though a pack of K-9s passed by earlier, the night can be described as uneventful. Their sleep went undisturbed… until they got a little wake-up call.

BOOM!

Everyone woke up, shook by heavy vibrations coming from nearby.

"What the hell is happening!" Fields yelled.

More vibrations ensued. They could hardly stand up. Whatever was happening, it was happening pretty close.

"Get us out of here Wigs!" Hopkins yelled out.

Wiggins crawled to the driver's seat and started taking them out of the alleyway to the main street. Hopkins opened the lid from one of the hatches above and looked out. He could see that K-9s running around now and F-16s bombing the surrounding area with cluster munitions.

"Hopkins, what the hell is happening out there?"

"Air Force is bombing the place. We need to get out here."

An F-16 passed by overhead.

"We're friendlies, you idiots! The hell, can't they see us?"

"You just removed the transponders and strobe lights, remember." Flint said.

"Oh, right."

Wigs was now running the Bradley fast, trying to evade K-9s on the run on the street from the airstrikes. A cluster bomb blew in front of them, creating a fire-work like crackling spark that wreaked serious damage in front of them. The damage building was a bowling alley. Apparently, there was a life-sized bowling ball and pins at its roof. The cluster bomb led to the debris nearly falling down to them. Wigs managed to make a turn, avoiding the explosion and missing the life-sized bowling ball by a hair as it rolled to the opposite direction.

After a few twist and turns, they all could breathe a sigh of relief. The vibrations were becoming less powerful and less frequent. They just narrowly escaped a bombing. Wigs went to an open parking lot and opened the back door. They walk outside witnessing a few jets fly by the Los Angeles skyline dropping heavy ordnance on the city proper. Smoke was now rising from the area they had just stayed in. They had narrowly escaped death, but they needed to get out faster now. If the air force started using indiscriminate strikes, they needed to get supplies of whatever is left of the city sooner before there is no city to speak of.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry for the really long wait. In case you may not know, I was busy cloning my files to the new hard drive I purchased. 500GB Seagate Momentus XT SSD HYBRID. Well I won't go in to the details so I'll just leave it at that.

Just in-case any of you wonder, the previous chapter was partly inspired by Black Ops, not that I bought the game ;).

By the way, I think JimmyRocket asked for a chapter like this. I gave it some thought and decided to make my story longer albeit slightly. It's somewhat like two chapters into one, but they don't really feel like two chapters because they're too short if they stood alone. Anyway, Chapter 5. Enjoy!

The Eye of the K-99

Bolt had consumed the body of another K-9. When the consummation was complete, the dog disappeared and what appeared before him was a mirror. He saw a reflection of himself and noticed the changes in his body. He somehow noticed the redness in his eyes slowly fading after what had happened. Though somehow, the color of his eyes never returned to their original brownish appearance. The redness almost made it seem that he could no longer recognize color properly. And yet, it also seemed as if he could look deep into his eyes and could see all those he consumed inside of him. Yet he saw something else. It seemed that he could see in his eyes the monster that was inside of him. Somehow, it aroused anger in him with a slight headache. The next thing he knew, the mirror was already shattered. He looked at the pieces of glass on the floor then heard the sound of a loud boom. What followed was the trembling of the ground. He looked outside of a window. He was apparently on the second story of a store. He noticed a building a block away get assaulted with an assortment of bombs. The fighter jet came overhead and it seemed like a good time to get out of the building. He jumped out of the building and ran away without looking back. A bright flash lit his back. He need not look back to know that the store he had stayed in was already destroyed.

There was chaos everywhere. The vibrations of the ground forced K-9s to get out of the building and move around. This caused some confusion as Bolt ran as fast as he could away from the bombs. He ran past a street but he forced his paws to stop forcefully when a giant bowling ball almost rolled past him. The ball went on its way. As he watched it go, he noticed a drop of water fall on his muzzle. It was just starting to rain and it grew larger. He did not seem alarmed by it though. The cool wetness flowing through his fur made him feel calm for some reason. He closed his eyes and faced the sky. He could not remember the last time he had done this. Perhaps it was all those memories clogging up his mind, or maybe it was just a long long time ago. After doing this, he just continued to walk but he frowned when looked down and saw his reflection on a puddle once more. He did not want to see it. He tried erasing it with his paw, but water is water. The puddle went back to its original state after a few ripples. Somehow he could not destroy his own reflection. He almost sighed at this and thought that it was time to look for a shade. He rested on a bench inside a bus stop. He lay on the seat not facing the outside. He only had thoughts of his own reflection. What he saw there, he did not wish to see. Yet somehow he could not help but realize that he could not escape this. He frowned at this fact.

"Why me?"

He then closed his eyes, seemingly not wanting to hear him say that. "No no. I'm still Penny's dog."

He hoped he still was. He curled up and tried to get some rest, not that he needed it, while the rain poured heavily on the city.

Must be the rain

Another F-16 made a fly-by over the resting Bradley. They had to stop. The heavy downpour hampered visibility. The rain was pouring heavily on the street, but the Bradley was out of touch from the air strikes. Hopkins opened the hatch, exposing himself to the rain as he tried re-establishing contact with aircraft bombarding the city. Apparently, he had no luck at all. He just got really wet. Somehow, all he could hear was static. Even the emergency radio broadcast that they had been hearing for quite some timewas no longer audible for some reason. It was all just static.

"Must be the rain." He said.

"Geez, it's the 21st century and we can't even get a good reception under the rain." Wiggins replied.

"Relax, Wigs. The rain will pass." Fields replied.

"So what's next on the itinerary, Sarge?" Flint asked.

"We're done shopping for basic supplies. Next, we need to head to a weapons shop to replenish supplies for our guns."

"Shouldn't we head to the gas stations first… you know, while they still haven't blown them up yet?" Flint asked.

"Let's just assume that we won't be able to get out of here soon. We need to get ready just in-case things go South…" Fields answered.

As the three continued their conversation within the vehicle, Hopkins turned his attention away to the surroundings. He thought he heard something. He put down his radio and lifted his weapon, pointing it to where he thought he heard the sound. He was sure something was hiding there as he pointed it to car entrance of a garage of an office building. He was about ready to fire.

He would have too, but something made him otherwise. A jet flew almost just above them. It sent vibrations through the ground. Soon afterwards, a flock of birds, crows in particular, started flying out towards his general direction. It startled him as they flew passed him, but that was it. "Darn birds." He lowered his weapon and closed the hatch. "We better get moving." He told the others. He started the vehicle, and they were now Oscar Mike.

As they left the street, a four-legged figure emerged slightly. Its figure could not be seen clearly, but it seemed that its tail was blinking. Its eyes glowed, not showing itself to the light of day as it stared at the leaving vehicle.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. It was really a busy two weeks =P. Not sure if I can update next week. Really important week for next week. Anyway, this chapter is actually partly inspired from a commercial.

The Battle of the Weapons Store

It had been two days since the bombings started. At first, it was just in one place, but soon enough, other areas within downtown have been starting to experience bombings in other parts of the city. I had to admit; we were running out of room to maneuver and needed to get out quick. Hopkins continued driving while Fields and Wigs tried working the radio. I just manned the gun. As days pass by, you can actually hear the air falling silent. Gunfire sounds had slowed down if not ceased. Whoever, they were, I can only hope that they made it out alive. Today wasn't any other day though and things were about to change…

Hopkins stopped the vehicle in front of a building. They have arrived. Fields was the first to get out of the vehicle. Wiggins soon followed, and then Flint. The door was padlocked, but Flint managed to break the glassed door using the butt of his shotgun and entered through the openings. Upon preliminary inspection, it was clear that no one was present.

"Area clear." Wigs said.

They looked around the room filled with excitement. Shotguns, Rifles, Sniper Rifles, shotguns, grenades, shotguns, combat knives, ammunition.

"Oh my God, weapons." Fields whispered.

Wigs got an AK in a closet filled with Russian weapons. "Wow."

Flint was walking towards the entrance with some rifles and munition when Fields passed by. "Flint, pass me a Remington, will 'ya."

Flint tossed the weapon over to him. The Remington 700 was a sniper rifle that was dead accurate. Wigs opened another cabinet. This time, it was filled with RPGs. "I'm surprised they're allowed to sell these." He said while he held with him the launcher.

They could have left sooner, but they sensed that there was no urgency to. In fact, it would have also been a good idea to stay here and hold out here had it been suggested. There was just too many weapons that they felt safe here. Deep down though, they knew it was an illusion. A safe haven surrounded by hell, would it have been better to take a piece of that haven and bring it along with them. Other than that, there was also the big chance of being bombed by the air force if they did decide to stay.

Perhaps they can stay a bit longer. All these weapons, what to do with them. At least that was what Flint thought as he got a familiar looking weapon in his hand, an M-16 rifle. He then looked over to Fields who was busy carrying loads of shotguns to the stash they have made at the entrance. "Sarge!"

Fields looked over to Flint. Flint aimed the rifle he held to Fields' head. "Bang!" He then started to run.

Fields would have asked him what the hell does he think is he doing pretending to shoot him, but he did not. Flint was on to something, and oddly, he liked where this was going. "Oh yeah?" He dropped the load he was carrying and got one of the shotguns he held. "Wigs, join me."

"Wait, what about…"

"Join me Wigs!" he said while preparing to make a barricade. Flint was on the other end, to which Fields aimed his weapon. "Bang!"

"Hey, you shot me, but I'm not giving up that easily. Bang!"

"Oh well." Wigs said as he joined Fields' side. "Bang! Bang!"

Flint pretended to pull the pin as he threw a grenade to them. The other two duck and cover over the strong yet imaginary explosion.

"I don't think I've had this much fun." Fields said as they continued on for ten minutes.

Hopkins was still in the Bradley. It had been about half an hour since they stopped by. He had been sitting at the turret for quite a while now. Nothing unusual was happening though, but Hopkins was starting to lose patience. "Why haven't they come back yet?" He then opened the back door and prepared to exit the vehicle. Upon entering the weapons store, he noticed from outside the shattered door and the arms that were laid just behind it, but they were not there. He did hear familiar voices from inside. Once he entered, he was not prepared by what he saw. Apparently, his three squadmates have barricaded themselves in a mock battle. Fields and Wigs were on one side with Flint on the other. "What on earth are you guys doing!"

They all look at Hopkins. "He started it." Flint and Wigs pointed their fingers to Flint. Flint then responded. "Uhm… Counter-Strike?"

There was a brief moment of silence. Though it was an understatement. It felt more like a brief moment of awkwardness. "Can I join?" Hopkins asked.

"Who's guarding the Bradley?" Flint asked.

"You can't let me play? There's no one within miles." Hopkins responded.

"Uh… guys?" Wigs asked.

"You can't be sure Hopkins, what if the Kilo Niners come? We need to be ready." Flint replied.

"Guys?" Wigs asked again.

"Oh, I need to stay and guard while you guys play like little kids in a candy store? I'm not your babysitter." Hopkins answered.

"Guys!" Wigs interrupted.

"What?" They both asked.

"The Bradley." He said pointing to the vehicle.

"Yeah Wigs, that's what we've been talking about." Hopkins replied.

"Not that. The Bradley's running away."

"What!"

They all look at their vehicle which was not far from them, but is surely leaving away from them. Soon enough, they all got their weapons and whatever they could carry.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted." Wigs replied.

"Shut up!" The other three simultaneously replying as they chase their runaway vehicle out in the open with Kilo Niners lurking about in God knows where.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Man, did I have a busy three weeks or what. This chapter is going to be longer than normal. Though, I believe we're almost at the end. I might not be able to update next week though. I'll try to make next chapter interesting though. Anyway, enjoy =).

On the Run/Man Behind the Wheel

"It's leaving! Our transport is leaving!" Wigs yelled as they ran toward the moving Bradley. The Bradley was now a block away from then, turning to the left to another street.

"This way!" Fields ordered as they head away from the streets to cut across a building. They enter through the main door only to head to a back door through the alleyways of the city. Upon getting to a street on the other side, they were able to get a visual of the Bradley, which unfortunately crossed through another intersection.

"Where is it going?" Hopkins yelled.

"I don't know. But hell, I don't want to walk all the way to Mexico."

They cut across another block yelling and cursing about their predicament, forgetting that they might get the attention of the K-9. Luckily for them, the Bradley was not going its full operating speed. Still, for someone to actually drive a military vehicle, whoever this was is clearly not a civilian.

"Anyone have a plan?"

They make another turn. To their worry, the Bradley was not there. Had they missed it?

Then they heard a rumbling. It was definitely their vehicle. They run towards the edge just above of a tunnel entrance as the Bradley gets into that tunnel.

"Is it me or did anyone notice the hatch open?" Wigs asked.

"Forget that. Did you smell that?" Hopkins noticing the smell from inside the hatch.

"That smell. It's kinda familiar. Like I tasted it before. Pretty strong too." Fields said. Then it hit him. "Guys, you don't think…"

They all look at each other. Somehow, it got Flint into thinking. "Sarge, I think I have a plan, but we need to get to the other side of the tunnel first before they do."

Without time to waste they sprint towards the exit. "Sure, I just hope we don't encounter any Kilo Niners on the way."

"Hope so. Now this is what we're gonna need."

Later, on the other side of the tunnel, the squad take up positions as they dig in using empty cars as cover. They were lucky enough to reach the tunnel ahead than the Bradley, or so they hoped. But they were sure. Given the speed it was travelling, they actually had a chance not to miss it. As soon as the rumbling got louder, they went into ready positions. Fields, who was hiding behind a car on the mouth of the approach to the tunnel, signalled to Flint to move. Flint nodded and ran toward the overhead section of the tunnel. He was just above when the Bradley started to show itself from the shadows. As expected, the hatch was still open. Flint got a grenade to his hand. It was no frag grenade though, it was tear gas. Flint pulled the pin and dropped the grenade. It fell down the hole and within seconds, an audible bang was heard from the inside.

Yellow smoke started appearing from the hatch. Almost immediately, the Bradley stopped. Fields, Wigs and Hopkins approached the vehicle with caution, unsure of what is in-store for them inside the vehicle. They hold-off just at the back door. Giving Hopkins the nod, he opened the back door. Yellow smoke engulfed them, but they overcame it. Yet in front of them, the hijacker was having difficulty overcoming the smell. A man in his fifties. He had a somewhat shaved beardHe was coughing himself off as he came out tripping to the floor. It made it easier for them since they need not subdue him. Flint soon came in the scene. As he did, he noticed a transparent glass bottle half-filled. There was no cap on the bottle, but Flint already knew what it was before he could reach his nose to the bottle cover. The smell, after all, was really strong. Flint without a doubt held with him…

"Vodka." Flint said as he passed the bottle to Hopkins.

"Pretty strong smell. Very highly-concentrated. Would explain why this guy is really drunk."

Wigs check the man for identification. He reached for the captive's pocket to obtain his wallet. Browsing through photos and remembrances, he found what he was looking for.

"N. Mineski." Wigs replied, showing the man's wallet and its details.

"Mineski… Russian." His attention now on their captive. "You alone?"

After brief moment of silence, the man blurted out a small laughter.

Flint continued searching for the man's valuables. So far, he's found an AK-47 and a radio. As he inspected the radio, he realized that it was not tuned in any VHF frequencies. More importantly, Flint was rather surprised to see a knob for UHF bands. It also felt a little aged and that its cleanliness had made it appear younger than it should. Though, it was more sophisticated than a typical walkie-talkie

"Why the hell are you laughing?" Fields demanded.

"Why?" The man started with more laughter. "I was ready to die, toravisch. I… I drunk too much vodka and thought to myself that it was all over. I walked outside to face my death… next thing I know. I'm here… with you…" He continued laughing.

Flint, still perplexed with the radio, approached Hopkins and held his wallet. His suspicion was confirmed.

"You don't know how happy I am seeing others like you. I… could've sworn I was the last one."

Flint then approached Fields and the Russian. "Mr. Nikolai Mineski, it says here you're more than just an armed civiliarn. You are an officer of the Russian army, yes?"

"Da… long time ago. Is there a problem?"

The squad looked to each other. Flint then looked back to him. "Nothing. Just that we want to make sure we don't have any conflicts of interest before we take you in."

"Uh… Flint, can I talk to you for a sec?"

Flint followed Fields just a bit away from the other three.

"What the hell are you thinking!"

"What? Letting him tag with us? You seemed open enough to accept me."

"You're American, Flint. He isn't. What makes you think…"

"You talk about country, yet here we are abandoning it. You may as well just forget our trip to Mexico."

Back just outside the vehicle, the other three watched as Fields and Flint talk.

"He doesn't trust Russians, does he?" Mineski said.

"Yep." Wigs replied.

"Look, don't be hypocrite." Flint said.

Fields gave it some thought. Though he did not like the idea, Flint had a point. "Fine, as long as he's only authorized to carry his weapon when we tell him to."

The two then come back to the main group. They could somehow guess with Flint's smile that things have worked out. "Alright, you can tag along. But you are not allowed to carry your own weapon unless we say you to. Got that?"

"Of course… Taktochna." In a sudden move, Mineski immediately exposed his side arm. He aimed it to Fields' general direction. To the two's surprise, they duck in reaction. Fields out of the way, Mineski's aim was now pointed toward an approaching K-9 leaping in the air. Two shots were fired and the K-9 fell to the ground.

Fields slowly recovered from the sudden knee-jerk reaction. "I thought I just told you to use a weapon when we tell you!"

"It's not my weapon! It's his." He returned the pistol to Wigs. "By the way, thanks."

"How the…?" Wigs checked were he usually placed his side-arm. Unusually, it was gone and Mineski did get it without his knowledge.

Moments later, a pack of K-9s can be suddenly heard. It did not come as a surprise though, considering how loud they were on that chase. It did not take long before they were visible. Everyone now readied themselves, getting positions near the vehicle. Even Mineski got his AK-47 which Fields, though annoyed, had to let it go for now. The pack slowly approached in all sides. K-9s even started appearing in the tunnels. Wigs got to the main turret. The K-9s were charging now.

50 meters. Everyone released a barrage of bullets to the incoming horde. They could hear the K-9s growling with their lust for blood. There were about 100 or 200 K-9s approaching, but they could not tell. 1 K-9 is already too much to handle. And though with 3 shotguns, 1 assault rifle and 1 machine gun, it would appear that they only took out a small portion of them.

It almost seemed like they were about to be overrun too, but in a slight chance of luck, they stopped to their tracks. This confusion has led the five men to stop firing. To add more to the confusion, the horde that was supposed to overrun them, started to fall back.

"What the hell just happened?" Hopkins asked.

"We… won?" Wigs replied.

"Don't be so sure, Toravishch…" Mineski said instantaneously. "Da, this can't be good. Where is my radio?"

"It's in the Bradley." Flint said.

Though with just a short distance, Mineski ran like a K-9 to get in. The others followed. He saw his radio. What he was hearing was not any good. His radio, listening at a particular UHF frequency band, was making high pitch noises.

"Chyort, that can't be good."

"What does it mean, Mineski?" Hopkins said.

"The Diablo, it's coming."

"What?"

"It killed my companions a few days back. I was the last one."

Soon, they heard a howling sound that was much different than the ones they normally heard. This one sent chills to everyone.

"Wigs, get us out of here." Fields ordered.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Sorry for the really long wait. It's my vacation time now, but I got caught up in Rio. Out of excitement, I wrote a fic for that. Anyway, we're almost done. About 2 or 3 more chapters left I guess. Depends actually, but I guess two or three more chapters left. I'll try to update soon. You'll find out why somewhere in the ending. But before you read the ending, read from the beginning =P.

digimon, funny how you know that i was gonn put Bolt in this chapter lol. Thanks for the review :).

We are OSCAR MIKE

M3A3 Systems

Secondary

… 7.62 mm machine gun

Primary

… TOW Anti-tank launcher

… 25 mm turret (under Pvt. Hopkins)

"Sarge, set the gun to auto." Hopkins yelled as he aimed his gun to face their back.

"Auto." The vehicle was on the move when another screeching roar echoed through the streets. It was annoying as hell that it made you want to cover your ears. "What is that?" Fields asked referring to the sound.

"I don't know. Can't you go any faster Wigs?"

"I'm trying. I can't do much when there's too much debris on the streets." Wigs tried his best to maneuver from the wreckages left on the streets. Another roar filled the air once more. This was nearer.

"It's just around the corner, toravaischch." Mineski replied. There was an eerie silence. Nothing was heard except for Mineski's radio, which made a ghostly white noise that filled the room.

Hopkins watched through the screen. Suddenly, a small burst occurred just behind them. Dusts emerged and filled the sky up. Hopkins could see the things' faint shadow.

"Target identified. Kilo-Niner."

"Fire." Fields ordered.

Without hesitation, Hopkins fired the figure hiding from the smoke. The figure soon emerged from the dust. What he saw war rather terrifying. Its initial noticeable feature was its size.

"Holy! That thing's huge." He said as he continued to fire.

Wigs soon made a turn in an intersection. There was a rumbling sound at first, but it happened once more with the building walls crumbling as seen from the screen. It had pierced through the building. The longer he focused his sight on him the more he noticed some of the K-9s features. Part of his skin was no longer flesh. There traces of fur cover while its other features seemed mechanical in nature. It was not clear though. The screen through which Hopkins was looking at was not colored. Another distinct feature was its tail. It was purely mechanical. One thing that was going through Hopkins mind was how it even turned to such a monster.

"Hopkins. Shoot!" Fields yelled.

As if he had lost focus to firing at the thing, he was startled at Fields command and soon resumed to shooting the thing.

It was getting closer. Luckily, Wigs made another turn, avoiding close contact with the creature. The K-9 that was chasing them soon recovered and gained momentum once more.

"Wigs, go faster! We're not losing it!"

"I can't get him off my tail! Just shoot it!"

"What the hell do you think I'm doing!"

Without hesitation, Mineski got up and approached Hopkins. "I'm going to climb you. Will you mind?"

"Yes."

"The hell, I'm going to do it anyway." He started climbing him.

"What the hell!" Hopkins yelled.

"What the hell are you doing!" Fields yelled.

"I will not sit here idly while were being chased by the Diablo." Mineski opened the hatch above the main gun and started shooting with his AK-47.

"This man is crazy." Fields said. "Flint what the hell are you doing?"

Flint lifted Hopkins' Barrett 0.50 cal. "Can't argue with a drunk man, sarge." He suddenly opened the back hatch.

Flint probably just needed one good shot. "Wigs. Stabilize your wreckless driving for a while. I'm gonna try and get a shot."

Wigs followed and straightened his driving. Unfortunately, the K-9 found this an opportunity and sprinted faster. Near enough, it jumped its farthest and landed on the Bradley, hanging on the back door and just in front of Flint.

Flint froze. "You gotta be kidding me."

It was about to make its screeching roar once more.

BANG!

Almost instantly, it rocketed out to the ground. Flint looked to his left seeing Fields with his shotgun, barrel still smoking. "And stay out."

The K-9 looked at the and was about to make its screeching roar when bowling ball rolls over it. Flint and Fields looked puzzled. "Wasn't that the bowling bowl that rolled passed us two days ago?"

"Yeah, talk about rolling thunder." Wigs said, looking as well.

"Damn it Wigs. Watch the ro…"

* * *

Bolt walked through another street. Face down. He did not need to look where he was going. Somehow, he felt lost.

_Bolt_

"Who's that?" He asked. No one was around to reply him though. Must be the wind, he thought.

He pressed on, walking at normal pace. He then heard footsteps.

"Who's there?"

_Bolt_

He looked in front of him. From afar, he could see a distant figure. It looked relatively familiar. Those eyes, those cheeks, that hair, her red shirt. Then he realized…

"Penny!"

He suddenly ran as fast as he could. He ran faster than ever before. Just before he could reach her, he heard a screeching voice. It ruined his concentration for a moment, but after looking forward and focusing again, he stopped. She disappeard.

"Penny?"

He started looking around. Was it an illusion? Was he seeing things? Then he heard another sound. It was coming to him fast, but before he could react, he got hit and passed out.

* * *

"_Com… n_."

"_W… d…dn't get th…s f… to b…w ea… other's he…s out_."

Bolt was half conscious when he heard a few people talking. His vision was blurred, though being a K-99, he was regenerating, but not fast enough. A man pulled his gun and aimed it at Bolt, the other gun was pointed to another man. Everyone else had their weapon aimed at each other. One man was mediating to calm the situation.

The man aiming the gun at Bolt pulled the trigger.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Apologies for the really long delay. On a good note, end of the road guys. The last two chapters are up. Again, I'd like to thank 8Miles for the opportunity. Hopefully, I didn't change the flow of the original plot. It's all based on what I've read so far in his story. This fic happens in-between his. Again, thanks all =).

Can't be trusted

After the vehicle stopped, the crew got out one-by-one. Hopkins and Flint surveyed the damage.

"How is it?" Fields asked.

"Treads are slightly damaged." Hopkins replied.

"Damn it." It was all Fields could say.

"Hang on. What in the world did we even hit?" Flint asked as he started following the tread marks in an attempt to find the source.

After a quick inspection, Hopkins concluded that only a quick fix was required. "Nothing I can't handle sarge."

"That's a relief. We'd be in for it if we stayed long here."

"Guys…"

"What is it, Fields?"

"There's something you need to see."

Everyone was now looking at it now. "It's him." Wigs replied. They were looking at the dog that started it all, Kilo-Niner-Niner. They noticed it was hardly moving. " Did we kill it?" Hopkins asked. Flint approached the roadkill. He pointed his finger to poke on it. Suddenly, black residue started enveloping his finger, but Flint was quick to remove his finger before he fused with the dog. "Well, it's not dead." Flint confirmed.

The dog was breathing heavily. It was hurt. "Wait, are you sure this is the right dog? Kilo-Niner-Niners is a strong one, right? This one's hardly putting up a fight."

Flint looked closer. Just as he did, he noticed Fields pulling out a pistol. "Woah, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing, Flint."

"Is that necessary? The dog's already down." Mineski asked.

"Shut up, Russian!" He pointed his side-arm to Mineski.

Mineski reacted by pointing a pistol as well.

Fields looked down at the Russian. "What do you think you're doing Flint?" Even without looking, he knew Flint was pointing a gun at his head.

"Have you lost it?" Flint replied, still holding his weapon.

"Flint." Hopkins said, now raising his side-arm and pointing it at him.

"Hey, where did my side-arm go?" Wigs asked until he saw it being held by Mineski. "Not again."

"He started this all, Flint. Maybe you should point your gun at him."

"I think we all played a part here, Sarge. Hopkins here failed to guard…"

"That is not my fault. Why in the world were you guys foolin' around?" Hopkins replied.

"This appears to be a conflict within your group. Perhaps, I will sit this one out." Mineski replied.

"Not so fast." Hopkins said, pointing another pistol at Mineski. Soon afterwards, Flint pointed another pistol at Hopkins.

"Flint, put the gun down. The Russian can't be trusted."

"Really? And you seem to take me into your crew the first day we met."

"Then maybe I should shoot the dog!" Fields said pointing his second pistol to the dog.

BANG!

They all point their weapons to the origin of what appears to be a gunshot. Facing them was Wigs. He had fired a warning shot with his last remaining pistol up in the air. "Guys, what the hell is wrong with you people!"

"What? This is how it's gonna end? Can't trust the Russian. Can't trust each other. Come on!" he added. "We didn't get this far to blow each other's heads out."

This was a tense situation, with no one giving in. Was this really how this was going to end?

Suddenly, one of them lowered their weapons. It was Mineski. He slowly lowered Wigs' pistol until it was no longer pointing at Fields. "You may not trust me. But I'd want to get the hell out just as much as you all."

Soon afterwards, Hopkins lowered both his weapons, followed by Flint. Fields still had his weapon aimed at Mineski and the K-99. Then he pulled the trigger. Mineski briefly had his eyes closed, thinking that he was shot. But after a few seconds, he opened them. He realized he did not pull the trigger on the weapon pointed at him, but the one pointing toward the K-99. Despite the gun near point blank range, Fields intentionally missed the shot. He soon lowered both his weapons. Wigs was happy if not relieved. Everyone seemed to be in agreement now. They all look at the limped dog. "So what do we do with the dog then?" Fields asked.

"Leave it?" Hopkins suggested.

"I say we thank it." Mineski replied.

"Pardon?" Wigs asked.

"Thank it. Over the past few days wandering, I've found out two things. The other dogs fear the Diablo and…" He looked at the dog beneath them. "This."

"If not for this dog, we would've been swarmed by now."

"I think there's still some hotdog on the freeze box."

"No, it doesn't devour food that's already been dead." Mineski explained.

"What does it eat then?"

Moments later…

"Adjust for windspeed, Hopkins." Flint said while he held with him a pair binoculars.

"Yeah, hold on." He said holding with him a Barrett .50 cal with silencer attachment. He aimed his sniper rifle over a K-9 about five hundred meters before them. They were in prone position.

"Don't kill the thing, just hurt it enough to immobilize it."

Looking through their scope, they could see the K-9 falling to their trap as it feasted on a pack of hotdogs that they laid there to serve as bait.

"Alright, the bait's been hooked. Fire when ready."

And with one quick pull of the trigger, their target fell. They quickly got the hurt K-9 and lay it beside the K-99 as presumably so that he could feast and recover with it. Soon as the minor repairs were done, they all got in and continued heading eastward.

"Do you regret what we did?" Flint asked the crew as they continue heading on.

"I don't know Flint, but that's not important I guess. We just need to get out of here. That's what's more important." Fields replied.

With that the crew fell silent on the remaining journey.

Bolt did not know how to comprehend this. They had the perfect chance to execute him, but they chose to let him live instead. The soldiers he usually encountered would try to kill him without hesitation. Clearly, these are a different bunch.


	10. Chapter 10

The Bridge

A river separated the East Los Angeles area with the rest of the city. We get across that bridge and we would be home free… well… free anyway. We could not wait any more. Either we get out or rot here. And we really need to be going, it has become evident over the past few days that the air force has decided blowing up bridges to prevent the spread heading eastward. Most, if not all the bridges had been bombed. Mineski told us that there was still one bridge that was still standing, and we followed. Fields did not have a choice but to trust him. It was after all, the last remaining bridge, and we needed to get past before it becomes…

Suddenly, the Bradley stopped on its tracks. "Guys, we may have a bit of a problem."

Everyone was outside now, inspecting the bridge they were going to cross… well, the bridge that was there anyway. But it was not and it had become apparent that the airstrikes had got to them first.

"We're too late." Fields muttered. "Too late."

Wigs and Hopkins were in disbelief. After all they have been through, had they done it all in vain?

They stayed there for a few hours and a few hours more, the sun would set, and it was never a good idea to stay out in the dead of night. Then again, what was the point? They had nowhere else to go. They could just leave the vehicle, but it never guarantees a sure escape. Sorrow and disbelief eventually turned to acceptance for some. Fields walked past Mineski as he appeared to be holding a piece of paper. Upon coming closer, he noticed it was a photograph. He sat beside him, then Mineski uttered some words. "Dah, my family. I've been married for quite sometime now and have two kids."

"Wow, where they able to evacuate safely?" Flint asked.

Mineski made a hearty laugh. "No no no. Nyet, they are in Murmansk."

"Russia."

"Dah, after the fall of the Soviet Union, things got really messed up. My job at the army couldn't support my family, so I had to leave." Then he sighed. "I wish I hadn't."

"Hey, no one wants to die in another country."

Soon, Fields appeared carrying what appears to be a bottle of wine. "Where in the world did you get that?" Flint asked.

Fields sat down with them. "I was saving it, 'til the day we crossed the border." He had the bottle opened up and had three cups with him. He offered himself and Flint. He then Mineski. "Are you sure? You're not mad at me?"

"It doesn't make a difference anymore I guess." He was pouring him his fill. "'cause all this time, I thought there was a way out, but it would seem I was wrong." He then offered the glass to him. "And no matter how much I think of the time we could've saved, I don't think we really had a chance.

Flint raised his glass and proposed a toast. "To the Air Force."

Fields then raised his glass, followed by Mineski. "The Air Force."

"The Air Force."

After everyone took a sip, Mineski raised his glass once more. "To the infection."

They raised their glasses once more before lowering it down to take a sip.

Finally, Fields raised his glass. "To second chances."

"Second chances." Flint lowered his hand took a sip from the glass. He looked at the horizon, seeing Hopkins and Wiggins sitting at the edge of the destroyed bridge. Flint looked into his glass and observed the refractions that were happening as light passed through it. Something then caught his eye. He thought he was imagining it at first, but as he moved the glass transversely, its full features, though distorted by the glass, were becoming recognizable. He then stood up.

"Where are you going?" Fields asked.

"I don't know, but if what I think I see is right, we may be getting our second chance." He said.

As they went on the edge of the bridge, Flint looked at the distance on the other side of the bridge.

"What are you looking for?"

"You see that warehouse?"

"The one with the guard tower?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"What about it?"

"Look there." Flint said pointing at his finger at the gate of the warehousing complex.

Fields looked closer, trying to hopefully get to what Flint was talking about. "Bulldozer?"

"Even better."

* * *

Moments later, two men are in the middle of the Los Angeles river. Their rifles held high so as not to jam their weapons while slowly crossing the river.

"Chyort. How the hell did I end up in here?" Mineski whined.

"Relax. Fields let you come with me. The fact he let you come means he's starting to trust you." Flint replied

"I can be helpful in other ways."

They reach the other end. Flint rose out of the water and gave Mineski a hand. "True. But you'll be much more helpful here."

Mineski took his hand as Flint pulled him out of the water. "I hope so. We better get moving, the sun is slowly setting."

"If things go according to plan, it would take about twenty minutes tops."

* * *

With binoculars, Fields was watching as the two as they reach the other side of the river. "God speed." He muttered.

* * *

Flint and Mineski were now nearing the warehousing area. As they approached, the so-called bulldozer was becoming clear of view.

"Bulldozer my vodka, this is a combat engineering vehicle."

"M104 Wolverine Heavy Assault Bridge. Hopefully, the span length is long enough to be laid on our broken bridge."

They approach the armor vehicle.

"What's it doing here?"

"Must've been abandoned during the retreat."

Flint climbed over the armor vehicle. "Cover me, will ya?" Flint asked.

"Okay."

Flint soon tried to fit himself between the tank hull and the mobile bridge unit on top to get in the tank. It took quite a while. Mineski was beginning to worry.

"Flint?"

Suddenly, the engines started running. Flint rose a bit above the tank hull, making himself visible to Flint. "Everything seems to be okay." He made a small thumbs up gesture. "Hop in."

"Gladly."

Mineski climbed on to the tank but chose not to get in. He preferred to just hang on.

* * *

Upon minutes of waiting, Fields and the others were beginning to worry. It's been a while already. Whether they made it or were eaten is anyone's guess really. He had some doubts, but he was confident. Indeed with confidence, Flint and Mineski showed up with the vehicle.

Overcome with joy, they hurriedly went to the edge of the broken bridge. Though far, they were within hearing distance with those on the other side.

"What kept you?" Wigs asked.

"It's a rusty old machine." Mineski replied.

"Alright guys, stand back, this rusty old machine still packs a punch." Flint replied.

Soon, the three from the west end of the bridge step aside. Flint activated the bridge lay and the clinks in the machine start turning. Mineski turned his head to Flint, who was surprised by the noise the tank was generating. "Wow, I've forgotten how noisy these things run."

A dog's howl was immediately heard after the machine started. It would seem that they heard and now, they were coming.

Fields urgently looked at Mineski. "How much time?"

Mineski looked at Flint, who was controlling the mobile bridge layer. "How much time?"

"A minute. Maybe two."

"Two minutes!" He yelled to the otherside.

"We better get ready." Hopkins said.

"Alright. Wigs, man the MG. Me and Hopkins will cover both the left and right flank."

On the east side, the bridge was fully extended was ready for overlay. Flint pushed a lever that would carefully place the bridge down to connect the two sides. But as soon as he did so, something went horribly wrong.

About halfway through the overlay, the machine suddenly stopped. Mineski, still at the side, looked puzzled. "Is that supposed to happen?"

"No." Flint replied.

"People are going to get disappointed."

On the west side, people fussed as to why the noise stopped. Fields went from the left flank to the edge of the bridge. "Guys? I'm not hearing anything. What's going on?"

"Slight glitch. But nothing I can work around on." Flint replied

"I hope so." Fields then hurried back.

Flint went inside the tank hull before emerging once more. "Here." Flint tossed something in the air. Mineski grabbed what appeared to be a sniper rifle. "Spot for them will ya? Use the guard tower." He said pointing toward a guard tower adjacent the warehouse. "If anything goes wrong, use this." He tossed him a radio.

* * *

"The others are busy, Mineski. Spot some other targets to cover me. I'm gonna try and sort this thing out. But the bridge layer will be operational in a few."

With a clear view from the top, Mineski could see the bridge, the river, the downtown area. Apparently, those on the west end are engaged on approaching K-9s, who have already reached the foot of the bridge.

At the dried up Los Angeles river, more dogs were approaching. He aimed his rifle and looked through his scope. Mineski had some experience with these very powerful weapons. Though its rate of fire is slow, one must never underestimate the sniper and his rifle. At the first shot, he could see the projectile move away, slightly going down with the effect of gravity. There was a delay of a half-second, but his first shot was no miss. The energy of the bullet penetrated through multiple dogs, about three or four, with just one bullet on its line of fire.

"I need to buy myself one of these." Mineski muttered.

At the east side of the bridge, Flint inspects the bridge laying tank, struggling as to why it still would not budge. Circling around the tank, he may have realized the problem. One of the hydraulic lines of the tank was empty. The lubricant inside had dried up, making the bridge laying function immobile. Flint needed to get lubricating fluid to mobilize the vehicle.

"Mineski, I've got a problem."

From the foot of the bridge to the lines Fields and his squadmates were defending, the K-9s were half-way through.

* * *

"Fire everything! We can't let them take this position!" Fields yelled.

They relentlessly fired with everything they got. Wigs threw in a grenade over the approach. The grenade rolled through the sloped road. Within a few seconds, the sound of detonation. Wigs dug his hand through his jacket to find more grenades, only to find out there were just two more left.

"I'm running out of frag." He said.

"How much you have?" Fields asked.

"Two."

"That's all we're gonna need. Toss me one!" Fields said. Wigs tossed him the last of two grenades, leaving him only just one. Without hesitation, he pulled the pin and tossed it as far as he could. It was gone.

* * *

"One of the hydraulic lines are dried up. We're gonna need oil to pressurize the system." Flint radioed

"Where are we going to get oil?"

"I don't know."

"Gas station."

"What?"

"Gas station. I saw a gas station not far from here. About two blocks to the west."

"Okay. Cover me then." Fields put his radio in his pocket and picked up his rifle. Soon, he ran as fast as he could to the gas station.

* * *

Fields and Wigs were losing ground. Inch by inch, they stepped back. Hopkins was at the Bradley using its main guns.

"Firing TOW." He pushed a button which released a missile normally used as an anti-tank, but would be good enough to blast the approaching K-9s.

The deafening explosion rocked Fields and Wigs. They were shaken, but they did not trip. In front of them, a fireball blocking half the entrance.

"Hotdog! No pun intended!" Fields said.

It was not over yet, the number of K-9s stretched blocks inward the downtown.

* * *

Flint was finally at the gas station. He immediately went to the garage to check for oils, opening a lot of cabinets. Eventually, he saw what he was looking for and got more than enough for the machine at the bridge. He got out of the garage, when out of the blue, a K-9 leaped toward him. He did not have time to pull his weapon. It was too near. Almost instantly, his life flashed before his eyes. He was reminded of a similar situation where he woke up in a Humvee, his squadmates were dead, he was alone and on the run, he was trapped. A group of K-9s approached. He shot everyone except for one. He thought he could not get out. Was it going to happen all over again? Was this the end for him?

Almost as soon as the K-9 appeared, he was shot in mid-air. Haven't I seen this before? He thought to himself. Fields did the same thing to me when I first met him.

"Target down. Flint, the area is clear. I'll cover you. Davai! Davai!" He radioed all the way from the tower.

He was relieved, but was short of words. He readied his gun and ran as fast as he could. He encountered a few K-9s here and there, but it was nothing compared to what Fields, Hopkins and Wigs were facing.

He ran as fast as he could using simple hit and run tactics towards the bridge. He finally made it to the vehicle. Finally, a glimmer of hope. This was going to work, he thought to himself. Flint poured oil in the machine. It was finally pressurized and good to go.

"Mineski, you can come down."

"Taktochna. Be with you."

With a pull from a lever, the bridge laying vehicle responded with every input Flint made. Slowly, he lowered the bridge. It was done. He immediately parked the vehicle at the side. They just needed the Bradley to cross and they were free. Flint got out of the vehicle and was soon followed by Mineski to head to the West end, where the other members continued fighting.

Flint ran toward Fields. "Hope we came just in time."

Fields welcomed the back-up. "Finally, thought you guys might take long. Let's get outta' here."

"Agreed."

"Wigs. We're Oscar Mike."

Wigs followed as he hurriedly headed for the Bradley. Mineski came to Flint and Fields, who looked at toward the city, seeing a full blockade had formulated from the use of two TOW rockets.

"Looks like you've been busy blowing stuff up."

"We can rest easy. They won't be able to cross that."

The radio suddenly pitched. Mineski first noticed this, followed by the Flint and Fields.

"No." Mineski muttered.

"That can't be good." Flint added.

Looking at each other, they immediately ran towards the Bradley.

"Guys. We need to cross the bridge now." Mineski said to Wigs and Hopkins inside the Bradley.

"He's not kidding." Fields added. "It's back. We're gonna try and stop it."

They all agreed. With that, the Bradley slowly crossed the bridge, leaving just Fields, Flint and Mineski on the West end.

"So… one last fight?" Fields asked pumping his shotgun.

"I think it's time we send this monster to its grave." Mineski replied, now holding his AK-47.

"I couldn't agree more." Flint replied.

From the fires emerged the four legged mutant monster they encountered previously, and with a deafening roar, it charged to them without thought and hesitation. They immediately fired their weapons without remorse, Fields with a shotgun, Flint and Mineski with automatic rifles.

Despite all their efforts, it showed no signs of stopping. It was approaching fast.

"Guys, get out of here." Flint replied.

"What about you?" Mineski asked.

"I'll be fine."

"We can't just leave you with that thing Fields." Fields said.

"I gave you an order, Corporal!"

Flint did not question further. He obeyed and accompanied Mineski to the other side. Fields was now the last person left on the west side. He slowly backed toward the bridge. The K-9 monster ran at a steady pace, and was about to reach him soon. Standing in the middle of the repaired bridge, he pulled something out of his jacket. It was the grenade he got from Wigs. It was close now. He pulled the pin. "Go to hell."

* * *

Running toward the other side, they both suddenly hear a violent explosion. Flint and Mineski looked behind them, seeing a fireball from where Fields once stood. They stopped running.

When the dust cleared, there was nothing on the deck of the bridge. The mobile bridge that they used to cross dropped from the deck to the river due to the force. Flint and Mineski were lost for words. They tried to analyse what just happened. But apparently, it seemed that Fields sacrificed himself just so they could cross.

"I don't believe it." Flint muttered. He could have sworn that they were all going to make it out alive. Soon enough, Hopkins and Wigs returned with the Bradley. They had seen what had happened from inside. They deployed from their vehicle. They too were lost for words.

"He's gone." Wigs softly spoke.

As if they were sure that he was no more, something climbed out from the tip of the chipped-off slab deck. A pair of hands emerged, something that caught Flint's eye. "Guys, look!" He pointed his hand. They immediately rushed to the edge of the bridge. Soon enough, they realized it was Fields. "Hey, give me a hand here will ya?" Apparently, before the grenade detonated, he was able to cling to the rebars on the slab deck. Hopkins and Wigs offered their hands for Fields to cling on. Slowly, they were able to pull him out of the edge. Fields lay on the ground on his back breathing heavily. Wigs and Hopkins sat from the exhaustion. "We thought you were dead man." Hopkins replied.

Fields continued breathing heavily. He mumbled something.

"What's that?" Hopkins asked.

"Mexico."

"Damn it, Sarge." They all started to smile. "You nearly got yourself killed." The smile then turned to laughter.

"Need a hand, comrade." Mineski asked, offering his hand.

Fields just smiled and took the offer.

"Funny, thought you didn't trust Russians."

"Hey, no matter where or what we are, we're all people, man."

As they all walk away from the bridge to the Bradley, they did not realize something emerging from behind them until they had a strange feeling behind them. They paused their walking and all turned slowly behind. They were surprised as they were greeted by the monster K-9 who also held on the rebars of the other end. They were dumbfounded. "This thing just won't die, won't it?" Fields said.

After climbing its way and had a firm footing, it looked at the five men in the eye, its look none too pleasant. It made its deafening trademark roar before charging towards them. But half-way through the sprint, the K-9's charge was interrupted by another dog. It took a few seconds to register, but they soon found out who the dog that was fighting was.

"That's…" Wigs muttered.

"Kilo-Niner-Niner." Fields finished.

The K-99 bit his opponent right at the neck. The K-9 yelped and used his paw to scrape him off. He was thrown off with some minor scratches. He soon noticed the five who just stood there. He barked at them.

"Is he…" Hopkins asked.

"It's fighting… for us." Flint added.

"Come on. We need to get out of here." Mineski replied urgently.

They could not agree more. Without hesitation, they got to the Bradley and took off as fast as they could. Eventually, the two fighting dogs were no longer visible in view. Everything was calm now. It was the first time that since the outbreak that the tensions and uneasiness subsided. Smiles were on their faces. Then the smiles turned to laughter, and the laughter turned to cheering. They had finally done it.

Five days later…

"W… up… Wake up!" Flint realized he was looking in front of a man. At the background, he could see two people providing cover fire. "You look beat."

"Where am I?" Flint asked.

"San Diego."

"And my squad?"

"If you're talking about the Bradley, it's wasted. Nobody's there."

"That's impossible."

One of the men providing cover fire yelled. "Sir, our ride's here." A black hawk had landed in one of the intersections of the city. A group of medics then came out of the helicopter with a make-shift bed. They slowly lifted Flint to the helicopter.

"You're gonna be alright, man."

"We're all in."

"Captain, get us in the air."

"Okay, this Crazywings 2-2. Exfil complete. _Heading to rendev_…"

"Wake up, Flint."

Flint woke up upon orders from Fields. "Your turn."

Flint just nodded and went to Hopkins, who was manning the gun. "Get some rest Hopkins, I'll take it from here."

Hopkins nodded and immediately lay down on a make shift bed.

"You know what I'm thinking now?" Mineski asked.

"What?" Wigs asked.

He showed a picture of his family, the photo from his wallet. "I can't wait to get back."

"You're a good man, Mineski." Fields replied.

"Still, just hold it off for a while until our Mexico trip. You definitely earned your keep." Wigs replied.

Flint looked over the monitors for the main gun. It was all desert. "Where are we now?"

"We just passed by San Diego." Hopkins replied.

"Anything happened."

"It was uneventful really."

Flint looked on the screen. Then something caught his attention. A white furry figure standing at the edge of a cliff from a far. The others were oblivious to what was happening. It looked eerily familiar. Was it a mirage tricking him? He zoomed in his camera and confirmed his position. Indeed it was none other the K-99 itself, but it stood still for some reason. It did not move for some reason, as if it was guarding us. In one bizarre moment, it looked like it looked him in the eye, in the monitor through a camera. It looked as if it knew there was someone watching.

"Thank you."

Flint was surprised. Did he just hear those very words? Not a bark, nor a howl, but a thank you directly spoken.

"Flint, you gotta see! We still have some hotdogs!"

Flint momentarily looked at his companions. Upon looking back, he realized the dog was gone.

And that was the last I saw of him. Despite all the atrocities my fellow men and I have witnessed, it was clear that this monster still definitely had a heart in him. Only God knows where he is now or where he will go. Maybe to look for answers or possibly to search for his owner. Who knows…

There was a sign just up ahead. "Guys, we're about 30 klicks from the border."

"Great! 'cuz I heard of this place somewhere in Mexicali. My friend told me of a good hotel there, affordable too."

"Yeah… Back when the dollar hadn't fallen yet." Apparently, after the epidemic, the dollar fell very sharply.

The Bradley is seen heading to the mountain border the United States shares with Mexico. Bolt sees the vehicle in the distance become a small speck, until the dust cloud made by its tracks made it nearly invisible. He pressed on. He did not know it, but something urged him to go east.

"I'll see you again one day, Penny."

He continued eastward to the state of Nevada.

A/N: Well, that's the end of that. Anyway, I think 8Miles should entertain on the possibility of Bolt being able to talk to people, seeing that he has been able to absorb many people. Just a thought.


End file.
